Ex-candidate Perry gets more votes in South Carolina than candidate Perry did in New Hampshire

Rick Perry delivers his 2011 State of the State address at the Texas Capitol. (Jack Plunkett/Associated Press)

Rick Perry got more votes in South Carolina after he dropped out of the 2012 presidential race than he did in New Hampshire when he was still a candidate.

Perry received 2,494 of the 600,000-plus votes cast in the Palmetto State on Saturday, as opposed to 1,766 in the New Hampshire primary votes when he was still in the race.

But the Texas governor — who dropped out of the presidential race on Thursday and endorsed surging conservative Newt Gingrich — lost out in the contest for first place among GOP campaign drop-outs. That prize goes to Herman Cain, who more than doubled Perry’s take with 6,324. Cain’s candidacy was aided by campaign videos released by the Super PAC created by comedian Stephen Colbert, now run by Colbert buddy Jon Stewart.

The Super PAC — called “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” — urged South Carolina voters to “raise Cain” by voting for the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO.

Cain and Perry outdistanced three other former GOP White House wannabes: Michele Bachmann (494 votes), former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (213) and Jon Huntsman (1,161).